This invention concerns snowshoes, and in particular a snowshoe with a footbed platform having two degrees of rotational freedom, along a pitch axis and a roll axis.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,898,874 discloses a number of different forms of snowshoe footbed suspension to achieve two degrees of rotational freedom, along the pitch and roll axes, to facilitate tipping the foot relative to the snowshoe while taking steps and for stable walking on sidehill terrain. The numerous embodiments include footbeds suspended by spring-biased pairs of cables at left and right sides permitting roll and also pitch rotation. Other embodiments in the patent include a pivot shaft for pitch rotational movement, and with provision for spring-biased lateral rocking motion of the boot and footbed along the roll-axis, relative to the transversely mounted pitch pivot shaft. One form of suspension shown in the patent has a transverse horizontal pivot rod for pitch movement, with the rod supported on flexible, spring-biased arms that bend to provide return-biased roll rotation, i.e. tipping of the boot and footbed to left and right for sidehill tracking.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,453,581 shows a snowshoe with a pitch pivot rod on which the footbed rotates, the pivot rod having ends bent into hook shapes which are fastened to snowshoe frame rails by riveted loops of strap material.